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1944 Education Act
Called the "Butler Act" after the Conservative politician R. A. Butler, Key features:
The new tripartite system: grammar schools, secondary technical schools and secondary modern schools.
Raised school leaving age to 15 (though the stated intention that it should be 16 was not effected until 1972).
Free education to 18 for all who want it.
The Act makes no reference as to how education should be organised, leaving arrangements to the LEAs. -
The Crowther Report 1959
-school assessment should be given greater weight and a new system of leaving certificates should be developed
-recommended raising the school leaving age to 16 years
-a new exam below level to cater for a wider ability range, and a range of sixth form courses other than ‘A’ level
-Recommended the expansion of further education along with a national system of vocational education and training
-FE not undertaken until the high youth unemployment of the 1980s -
Newsom Report 1963
Entitled ‘Half Our Future’.
It provided statistical data showing the variation in pupils’ reading test scores by school and by region, with schools ‘failing’ many pupils aged 13-16 of average and below average ability.
Many secondary modern schools were seriously deficient, with proportionally more funding being channelled into the grammar schools. -
The Plowden Report
The unofficial name for the 1967 report of the Central Advisory Council For Education (England) into Primary education in England.
The report was widely known for its praising of child-centred approaches to education, stressing that "at the heart of the educational process lies the child' -
Schol leaving age set at 16
After the post war boom, there was now high youth unemployment rates. This was made worse by the down turn in manufacturing employment. The government thought that by raising school leaving age, and better equiping students with skills for work. Cynics felt that this was a move to present less dramitic youth unemployment figures to the public. -
Sex discrimination act
Equal rights regardless of gender -
PGCE compulsory for graduates entering teaching
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Race relations act
For the first time, discrimination on the grounds of gender or race became illegal. Slow developments in curriculum, and access to curriculum, began to reflect this. -
Callaghan’s Speech at Ruskin College
Callaghan’s Speech at Ruskin College and the 'Great debate' in education.
Labour prime minister's speach claimed that...
- curriculum should account more for the needs of industry
- "to equip children to the best if their ability for a lively, constructive place in society and also to fit them to do a job of work. Not one, or the other, but both. "
-Left teachers feeling uncertain about their role, as employers joined the debate. -
Warnock report
The Warnock Report recommended that there should be specialist provision for children; this helped ensure that families with SEN received appropriate provision. The Warnock Report gave rise to the Education (special) Act 1981 which attempted to address SEND further. The Act introduced the requirement that LEAs identify and assess pupils who may require the LEA to decide on suitable provision for them. -
Period: to
The Thatcherite Vision of Schooling and Society
Key characteristics:
- Conflicting ideologies from 'neo-conservative' wanting a return to tradition, state imposed national curriculum and the 'neo-librals' who wanted choice, diversity and market forces.
- shift to less individual teacher autonomy, more school autonomy, more parental choice (theoretically).
- view as parents and pupils as 'consumers' of education
-continued belief that academic selection ensured academic excellence. -
1981 Education (Special Education) Act
The first piece of legislation that imposed a duty upon mainstream schools and local educational authorities to arrange provision that was required to support children with special educational needs to flourish. -
1986 National Council for Vocational Qualification established
Introduction of national vocational qualifications (NVQ). Focus on competencies in the work place, which led to a parallel introduction of vocational qualifications in school and college. -
First City Technology College Opened
Partially funded by industry, who own or lease the property, the rest of the costs covered by central government.
Run on 'business lines' (a longer school day) and offered a mix of vocational and acaedmic curriculum. Described a comprehensive but these schools could be selective based upon pupils 'attitudes'.
Only 15 schools were set up, one of which was my school Thomas Telford. This was the precursor to the establishment of academies. -
GCSE Introduction
GCSEs replaced the traditional O level qualification. With this new methods of learning and assessing developed such as course work and application of knowledge. Publication of such results is today used by the government to put pressure on schools to improve. -
School standards and framework act 1998
-Education action zones: Local partnerships to help develop ways to improve standards in disadvantaged areas
LEA intervention into weak or failing schools...
-Large sums of money were provided for underprivileged commDirected Taskies and for weak and failing schools, but funding was linked to short-term targets for improvement New school categories (see new tab) -
New school categories 1988
CommDirected Tasky: the LEA employs the schools' staff, own the schools' lands and buildings and have primary responsibility for deciding the arrangements for admitting pupils.
Foundation: the governing body employs the staff and manages admissions. School property is owned by the governing body or by a charitable foundation.
Voluntary aided: historical links to churchs on non-denominational with links to london livery companies.
Voluntary controlled: almost always church schools -
Thomas Telford School opens
One of only 3 of the 15 CTCs that has not converted to an academy. One of the school's initial main aims was to help relieve the under-performing schools in the urban areas of Wolverhampton. Part state funded and partly funded by the mercers, the school followed school day of 8:30-4 with after school clubs until 5:40 or 8pm. Each session lasted 3 hours and some subjects were taught in a learning bases, with 3 classes occuring at once. -
The establishment of OFSTED
John Majors government introduced a national scheme of inspections though a reconstituted HMI, which became known as the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). This was with the aim of standardising inspections nationally.
Under the Education (Schools) Act 1992, HMI would supervise the inspection of each state-funded school in the country, and would publish its reports instead of reporting to the Secretary of State -
Rachel was born!
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Code of practice for Special Needs Education
Helped clarify what was meant by a 'special needs' requirement
Identified the need for a dedicated special needs coordinator in every school (SENCO)
Helped set up the SEN tribunal for parental appeals.
Lead to hugh increases in demand for the financing of SEN aids -
Start at Villiers Primary school
Starting for a year in the nursery and beginning in reception during september 1997, I stayed here for all my primary education years.
Here I was influenced by the national requirment to take SATs in KS1 and KS2. -
Period: to
New Labour and Education
"We cannot run a first-rate economy on the basis of a second-rate education system” Gordon Brown, 1997
-Increased state control over schools, curriculum, teachers and LEAs
-An assumption that work-related curricula would translate into employability and meet employers’ needs
-A focus on standards rather than structures, with a ‘modernisation’ of the comprehensive principle in order
-Ideology of social justice that emphasises gender and race equality, special needs education and social inclusion -
Intoduction of teaching standards
Induction Standards for newly qualified teachers (but little coherence with QTS standards) -
The Children Act: Every Child Matters
Intergrated children's services; providing out of school activities, commDirected Tasky facilities, family support and specialist services -
First day at Thomas Telford School
Began as a year 7 student at Thomas Telford School. Here I was to enjoy 5 years, plus a further 2 years in the sixth form. TTS was a CTC; influenced by the CTC introduction in the 1980s. It was an independent school, free from LEA control and partially funded by the government. Entrance to this school required a 11+ style examination along with an application form that had heavy intrest in extra curricular activities. The school pupils had a range of prior attainment. -
National Strategy for Secondary Education
A stratergy to promote...
“interactive and inclusive” whole-class teaching, which gets the best from every child;
extra small-group or one-to-one tuition for those who need it, not as a substitute for excellent whole-class teaching, but as an integral part of the child’s learning;
innovative use of ICT, both in the classroom and linking the classroom and home. -
Professional Standards for Teachers
Bringing together the standards for initial training, induction and on-going professional development -
Rachel's GCSE Results
After taking a mixture of traditional GCSEs in acdemic subjects along side more vocational VGCSE, GNVQs and BTECs I achieved (or the equivalent of) around 20 GCSEs. -1986 National council for Vocation Qualification
-1988 introduction of GCSE: With a focus more on the application of skills, coursework etc. and not simply the memorisation of facts, -
Start of Sixth form
Remaining at Thomas Telford School, I choose to study traditional A level qualifications in Biology, Chemistry & Physics. Part of the school's policy was that I had to also take A level ICT and General Studies. -
Academies Act 2010
The act provided for huge and rapid expansion of academies. -
Final week at Thomas Telford School
After 7 long years of 7:30am coach pick ups, 5pm drop offs, 3 hour lessons, music school and so on my final week at TTS had arrived. Through my time there I had achieved success at GCSE and stood in good stead to to well in my A levels too. The last 7 years had been a blast, now was when the real hard work was to begin. -
Enrolled at Swansea University
September 2011 I began the first year of my undergraduate degree in marine biology at Swansea university. During my first year of study I took a broad range of biology based modules, becoming ever more specialised over the coming years. Whilst at university I learnt to scuba dive & was a member of the dance society, I thoroughly enjoyed living away from home and being able to study and socialise with people from across the UK and beyond. -
Graduated from Swansea University
After the best 3 years down in Swansea I finally graduated with a first class with hons in my BSc Marine biology degree.
